SMOKING: The Addiction !
The best advice that I can give is to stop smoking! Most of you will find it nearly impossible because smoking is singularly the most physically and psychologically profound addiction known to man. I advise you to seek out local agencies such as the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society for advice and assistance. Although not a substitute for quitting, I advise you to consider increasing your intake of Vitamins C and E. This will decrease oxidation of cholesterol making it less harmful. Also you must increase your intake of fiber. Increased fiber intake alone will decrease your risk of heart disease, particularly in smokers. These recent articles are supportive.
Fuller CJ; Grundy SM; Norkus EP; Jialal I.
Effect of ascorbate supplementation on low
density lipoprotein oxidation in smokers.
Atherosclerosis, 1996 Jan 26, 119(2):139-50.
The oxidative modification of low density lipoprotein (LDL) may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, evidence of oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) has been found in vivo. Supplementation of some animal models with antioxidants has been shown to retard the formation of aortic atherosclerosis.
Ascorbate (vitamin C) is a highly potent aqueous-phase antioxidant in plasma, which has been shown in vitro to retard LDL oxidation. Cigarette smokers have reduced concentrations of ascorbate in their plasma, and their LDL may be more prone to oxidation. Hence, the objective of the present study was to examine the effect of ascorbate depletion and supplementation on the propensity of LDL to oxidize in smokers in a 6-week study.
Nineteen healthy smokers followed a low ascorbate diet (< or = 30 mg/day) for 2 weeks, then were randomly assigned to receive placebo or 1000 mg ascorbate per day for 4 weeks. Blood was taken at 0 and 4 weeks of supplementation for study of LDL oxidative susceptibility. LDL was oxidized with 5 mumol/l copper. The ascorbate-supplemented group had significant increases in plasma ascorbate. The placebo group showed no change in the time course of LDL oxidation between 0 and 4 weeks. However, the ascorbate-supplemented group has a significant reduction in LDL oxidative susceptibility as measured by thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and the formation of conjugated dienes. The ascorbate-supplemented group demonstrated significantly increased lag phase and decreased oxidation rate at 4 weeks compared to 0 weeks. No changes were found in the placebo group. Theascorbate-supplemented group showed no biochemical signs consistent with increased body iron stores.
Supplementation of otherwise healthy smokers for 4 weeks with 1000 mg ascorbate per day resulted in increased plasma ascorbate and reduced LDL oxidative susceptibility.
Pietinen P; Rimm EB; Korhonen P; Hartman AM;
Willett WC; Albanes D; Virtamo J.
Intake of dietary fiber and risk of coronary
heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men. The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer
Prevention Study
Circulation, 1996 Dec 1, 94(11):2720-7.
Even though dietary fiber has been hypothesized to reducethe risk of coronary heart disease, few large epidemiological studies have examined this relation with good methodology.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with daily supplementation of alpha-tocopherol and/or beta-carotene. Of the participants, 21930 smoking men aged 50 to 69 years who were free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease and had completed a validated dietary questionnaire at baseline were followed for 6.1 years. We monitored the incidence of major coronary events (a combination of first nonfatal myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease death; n = 1399) and mortality from coronary heart disease (n = 635). Both entities had a significant inverse association with dietary fiber, but the association was stronger for coronary death. For men in the highest quintile of total dietary fiber intake (median, 34.8 g/d), the relative risk for coronary death was 0.69 (95% confidence interval, 0.54 to 0.88; P < .001 for trend) compared with men in the lowest quintile of intake (median, 16.1 g/d). With an adjustment for known cardiovascular risk factors, intake of saturated fatty acids, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E did not materially change the result.
Water-soluble fiber was slightly more strongly associated with reduced coronary death than water-insoluble fiber, and cereal fiber also had a stronger association than vegetable or fruit fiber. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that independent of other risk factors, greater intake of foods rich in fiber can substantially reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, and particularly coronary death, in middle-aged, smoking men.
